Adulteration process

The results have shown that a great number of commercial aguardentes have undergone for some adulteration process, possibly by using the sugar-cane aguardentes, which have a low cost involved in its manufacture process. 

The introduction of synthetic materials into natural products, often described as adulteration , is a common occurrence in food processing. The types of compounds introduced, however, are often chiral in nature, e.g. the addition of terpenes into fruit juices. The degree to which a synthetic terpene has been added to a natural product may be subsequently determined if chiral quantitation of the target species is enabled, since synthetic terpenes are manufactured as racemates. Two-dimensional GC has a long history as the methodology of choice for this particular aspect of organic analysis (38). 

The enantiomeric distribution can be very useful for identifying adulterated foods and beverages, for controlling and monitoring fermentation processes and products, and evaluating age and storage effects (1). 

But by applying the process of fractional distillation to a sample, and determining the characters of numerous fractions, the actual number of available determinations may be, and frequently is, so largely increased that there is practically no chance of the adulterator being able to standardise his oils to meet all these figures. This proposition, of course, fails where it is possible to use a substance obtained from a cheaper source which is identical with one contained naturally in the oil, and which is added in such amount as not to materially exceed, in the total, the amount naturally occurring in the essential oil in question. 

A few essential oils contain substances which can be easily synthesised, by processes in which the use of chlorine is involved. Su oils are-frequently adulterated with the synthetic product. If this contains chlorine—which is very frequently the case, on account of the difiSculty in removing the last traces of this hody—its detection becomes of importance, as the presence of a trace of chlorine is evidence of the presence-of the artificial compound. 

The main concern for quality assurance for dietary supplements is that the correct ingredient is used. Incorrect ingredients may be used via adulteration, erroneous substitution of products, or lack of routine tests to monitor the presence of the intended amounts of an active ingredient before and after processing [16]. 

Our laboratory data processing system is known as STRIDE (System to Retrieve Information from Drug Evidence). It is now in its third year of operation. In 1974, we will be installing in each laboratory computer terminals connected to the main computer in Washington. Every piece of evidence analyzed is entered into the system. The type of information includes the subject s name where the purchase or seizure was made the amount of money expended the suspected drug what the drug was found to bfe the purity of the drug and what excipients and adulterants were present. 

Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) sets standards for food safety and inspects meat, poultry, and egg products produced domestically and imported. The Service inspects animals and birds at slaughter and processed products at various stages of the production process, and analyzes products for microbiological and chemical adulterants. FSIS also informs the public about meat, poultry, and egg product food safety issues. FSIS works with the Research, Education and Economics mission area on food safety research issues and the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service on instances where animal diseases impact food safety. FSIS also facilitates the management of US activities pertaining to the Codex Alimentarius Commission, an international organization created by the United Nations, to promote the health and economic interests of consumers while encouraging fair international trade in food. 

The use of enantiomers as additional markers for taxonomic characterization of aromatic plants may be very helpful. The differences in the enantiomeric distribution of trans- and cis- sabinene hydrates in two Origanum species enable the species to be distinguished in spite of their similar essential oil compositions. A further study on the natural variation of the enantiomeric composition within a wild population may be carried out in order to examine the stability in a taxon (including the possible presence of chemotypes). The enantiomeric ratio of essential oil components is a reliable parameter for assessing quality because it may be indicative of adulteration, contamination, aging, shelf life, technological process and the botanical source of a specific chiral compound. ... 

Besides the unintentional in-process adulteration of heavy metals, it is well established that Ayurvedic medicine and traditional Chinese medicine sometimes employ complex mixtures of plant, animal, and mineral substances, and it is not uncommon to find appreciable quantities of heavy metals such as lead, mercury, cadmium, arsenic, and gold in certain formulations (19,22,23). 

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